Psy video banned in South Korea

KBS has banned the new video from airing, due to Psy’s less-than-gentlemanly treatment of public property in a scene where he kicks down a traffic cone and laughs. In a statement, the broadcaster noted,

KBS’s review standards … are different from the Internet, online broadcasters or cable channels. This is because network TV is watched by everyone regardless of gender and age. Infants or children haven’t fully developed a standard for judgment and tend to believe and follow what’s shown on television.

If you take a look at the video, it is pretty tame compared to a lot of other music videos you see on MTV. Despite all of the executive orders issued by the president, the continual over reach of the Congress and all the judicial activism in the United States, the banning of a video like this would not happen.

That says a few things. It says that freedom of speech is still alive in the United States. It says that Korea has a more interventionist approach to child-rearing. It says that South Korean sensibilities are different from American sensibilities. South Korea is turning itself into an economic powerhouse. If they have a more puritan approach to society than America now does, does that mean that their rise corresponds to America's rise during more puritan times? Is there a correlation? Is Korea right to limit free speech to this extent?

Another observation - It seems like not everyone in South Korea is really worried about the threat posed by North Korea. After all, they've got time to consider whether kicking over a pylon is safe for kids to watch.